Video Information: 11.12.2024, Vedanta: Basics to Classics, Goa
📋 Video Chapters:
0:00 - Introducing Philosophy as a Life-Centric Subject
2:13 - Philosophy vs. Other Subjects: Who is the Doer?
4:14 - The Role of Love in Pursuing Philosophy
5:45 - Embracing Philosophy Fully vs. Keeping It a Hobby
8:10 - Concerns About Career Prospects in Philosophy
10:28 - Balancing Livelihood and Passion for Philosophy
11:43 - Self-Doubt and Time Management in Philosophy
14:26 - Commitment to Philosophy: A Deeper Perspective
15:47 - Overcoming Doubts About Philosophy's Relevance
17:27 - Reflecting on Kahlil Gibran's Philosophy of Silence
Description:
A student shared her interest in studying philosophy for graduation and sought advice on its formal study. There were concerns that learning philosophy as part of a curriculum might reduce its depth and impact. It was discussed that any subject’s value depends on how one approaches it. If someone truly loves a subject, it should become a central part of their life, not a side interest.
The belief that formal study might hinder connection was questioned, emphasizing that true engagement comes from genuine commitment. Choosing a subject based on passion rather than societal expectations or fear of insecurity was encouraged. Personal fulfillment lies in dedicating oneself to what they genuinely love, regardless of external pressures or doubts.
🎧 Listen to Acharya Prashant on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/2QmVEAAnsNE7Xs0MW0Li8Y?si=09fbcbc7c99c469b
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~
📋 Video Chapters:
0:00 - Introducing Philosophy as a Life-Centric Subject
2:13 - Philosophy vs. Other Subjects: Who is the Doer?
4:14 - The Role of Love in Pursuing Philosophy
5:45 - Embracing Philosophy Fully vs. Keeping It a Hobby
8:10 - Concerns About Career Prospects in Philosophy
10:28 - Balancing Livelihood and Passion for Philosophy
11:43 - Self-Doubt and Time Management in Philosophy
14:26 - Commitment to Philosophy: A Deeper Perspective
15:47 - Overcoming Doubts About Philosophy's Relevance
17:27 - Reflecting on Kahlil Gibran's Philosophy of Silence
Description:
A student shared her interest in studying philosophy for graduation and sought advice on its formal study. There were concerns that learning philosophy as part of a curriculum might reduce its depth and impact. It was discussed that any subject’s value depends on how one approaches it. If someone truly loves a subject, it should become a central part of their life, not a side interest.
The belief that formal study might hinder connection was questioned, emphasizing that true engagement comes from genuine commitment. Choosing a subject based on passion rather than societal expectations or fear of insecurity was encouraged. Personal fulfillment lies in dedicating oneself to what they genuinely love, regardless of external pressures or doubts.
🎧 Listen to Acharya Prashant on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/2QmVEAAnsNE7Xs0MW0Li8Y?si=09fbcbc7c99c469b
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00So Acharya ji, the question is raised from here, that if I choose philosophy as an ordinary
00:05routine subject, will it be able to leave a deep impact, will it be able to penetrate
00:11with it?
00:12So you give up philosophy and you take up history, what's your inclination towards history
00:18from?
00:19That's a much bigger question to ask.
00:23Here there is 10% doubt and there there is 100% doubt, yet you are ready to side with
00:29100% doubt, you are never going to be 100% sure as a young person, that's not going to
00:34happen, never.
00:35You have to operate on probabilities.
00:36Yes, obviously it is possible that this affinity for philosophy is a fleeting one, it's possible
00:44that in the course of time you say, no, I don't like philosophy, if that happens, drop
00:48philosophy, fine.
00:49Pranav Acharya ji, my name is Kranali Nayak and I am a student of Humanities stream in
00:58class 12th.
00:59So now the time is approaching when I have to choose subjects for my graduation.
01:05Keeping in mind my inclination and interest, I found it appropriate to choose philosophy
01:10which is closest to life.
01:12So you are a student of class 12th Humanities stream, right now?
01:16Right sir, right sir.
01:19So keeping in mind my inclination and interest, I found it appropriate to choose philosophy
01:25for graduation, which is closest to life.
01:27But when I discussed it with a close relative of mine and he gave me many other perspectives,
01:33one of the basic things that he wanted me to understand was that philosophy is a subject
01:38for which you need to get prepared to reach to.
01:41He stated that approach philosophy with love, with questions and not as a subject of your,
01:48not as a subject which is just a part of your curriculum.
01:51And then after that, I also read Oshoji on this and then he said that be careful with
01:56this subject.
01:57It makes you very intellectual unnecessarily.
02:00So Acharya ji, the question is raised from here that if I choose philosophy as an ordinary
02:05routine subject, will it be able to leave a deep impact?
02:10Will it be able to penetrate with it?
02:15Philosophy is not a doer or an agent with consciousness.
02:22You are the one choosing, deciding, acting.
02:28It depends on what you want from any of the choices you make.
02:33You could choose philosophy, you could choose engineering, you could choose botany, you
02:37could choose history.
02:40It depends on what you want from your field.
02:44Nothing will do anything on its own to you.
02:51The doer is not history or philosophy or science.
02:57You are the doer.
02:58If you want to just exploit the subject to fatten your intellect, the subject will be
03:09used for that.
03:12If you want to have a love affair with philosophy or history or science or architecture, that
03:21too is possible.
03:26It's a weird thing to say that if you are in love with something, then you should not
03:38let it become your life.
03:41I've heard this kind of reasoning before.
03:47If you love philosophy or whatever, music, then you should not approach it in a formal
03:55way.
03:58You should let it remain some kind of behind the screens love affair.
04:05I do not know what that means and why that kind of thought should be entertained.
04:14If I love the Gita, for example, the field of wisdom and self-knowledge, I would rather
04:22devote time to it.
04:23I would let it become my life.
04:27I would let it permeate my 24 hours in as many ways and as deeply as possible.
04:37I won't say that I would rather work in a slaughterhouse and then on the weekends I'll
04:45pick up the Gita to ease my guilt.
04:51But that's how the world approaches love.
04:53He says your regular life should be an affair of lovelessness and then behind closed doors
05:08you can fulfil the urges of your love.
05:21You can have a secret library, Kamu is there, Dante is there, Dostoevsky is there, and all
05:31these people are there, and all the Indian philosophers are there.
05:36And when nobody is watching, then you go to them and read two pages and then go to sleep.
05:46I don't know why the real thing in one's life has to be a covert affair and an exercise
05:57in stealth.
05:58Why can't one morally come out and declare her love?
06:04First of all, I'm assuming here that there is love.
06:08If there is no love, then this discussion is meaningless.
06:15But I'm assuming that you have a certain real inclination towards knowing, understanding.
06:26Philosophy is not just an intellectual process, it is deeper than that.
06:31In the name itself there is love.
06:35Philo, Sophie, you know that, right?
06:39Very obvious.
06:40The name itself consists of love.
06:46So if there is love, please do not consign it to the backyard of your life.
06:58Please do not make it something hidden, secret, part-time or pastime.
07:10Let it become your heartbeat.
07:13Come out with it, express it, live it, right?
07:19I do not know what kind of careers are possible in philosophy, but that should be none of your concern.
07:30That's a very boring question, what's going to happen after three years, after five years.
07:38That's a pretty stupid thing to ask.
07:45One might not even be alive after five years, that's a unnecessary speculation.
07:53Do what you love to right now, and the future will take care of itself, no need to worry.
08:04In the middle of love, one anyway does not have the time or space or inclination to worry.
08:10But the main point that they want me to understand is that if you are pursuing, especially this
08:19subject in terms of philosophy based talk, if you are pursuing this subject, then you
08:23won't be able to have it as the core of your life.
08:26If you make it very formal and curriculum based, you won't be able to reach to the essence
08:31to what great people have tried to tell you.
08:35Why?
08:36I just don't see where that argument is coming from, why?
08:40It's like saying, you know, Papa I love tennis, Papa I love tennis, alright then, you enroll
08:51in history, enroll in history, and then two hours per week you play tennis, and then you
08:59will be able to make tennis your life.
09:04If you want to make tennis your life, go to a tennis academy, but here the argument is
09:11just the opposite.
09:12The argument is saying, if you choose to study philosophy, then philosophy will not become
09:17your life.
09:18How?
09:19And how will philosophy become your life, if you rather study science?
09:30I don't see where that argument is from.
09:34I know where that argument is from, I should stop pretending.
09:41The argument is, do not burden your love with your livelihood.
09:47That is the argument.
09:48You are saying your livelihood should be from some regular source, regular and secure, and
09:57then once you feel relieved of the pressures of livelihood, then for a little while, every
10:06week or every month, you can attend to your love, that's what the argument is, but the
10:13argument is still equally specious.
10:19There's a thing in this argument.
10:22It's an argument coming from insecurity and fear.
10:27First you assure your money, and then you should look at your passion.
10:35That's a very lifeless and loveless argument.
10:42You attend to your love and forget about money, livelihood.
10:50These things have a way of taking care of themselves.
10:56Nobody who very honestly, very sincerely pursued her love was found dying of starvation ever.
11:12You may not become a millionaire, but your genuine needs will be taken care of.
11:20Don't worry.
11:24The world has a great need for people who can understand, who can think, who have some
11:30intellect, who have some depth, and since the world has a great need of these people,
11:38So the concern is not about the career option that I would get later on, it is more about
11:48if I approach the subject from the perspective of, okay, this is what the professor is going
11:54to teach me tomorrow, or this is the kind of assignment that I need to complete.
11:58So I would make it more memory-based, less than what you…
12:04You know what the reality is?
12:07You don't make philosophy the subject of your academic pursuit and you will find you
12:17are not even reading philosophy at all.
12:22One must learn to be a little skeptical of herself.
12:28If you are pursuing architecture, you really think you will find time and motivation and
12:35reasons to immerse yourself in philosophy?
12:38Really is that going to happen?
12:39Where have you seen that happening except in the rarest of exceptions?
12:52You are pursuing whatever, sociology, mathematics, physics, MBBS, whatever, and you think you
13:01will have the need and the time and the urge to still go deeply into philosophy, you won't
13:09even pick up the books.
13:10Or even if you will pick up the books, that would be like ticking a box.
13:18Don't trust yourself so much.
13:23On paper it always feels one has a lot of time, but time has a way of slipping away.
13:33You might think, okay, fine, I will attend my college classes 8 to 2, then I will return,
13:40then I will attend to this, then I will eat, then I will play a little, then I will sleep
13:44a little, and then I will have 4 hours to read philosophy.
13:48That's not materializing, girl.
13:51That won't happen that way.
13:56So wherever there is a need, rather an opportunity to discipline yourself, use that opportunity.
14:05If you get something worthwhile, find a way to tie yourself to that thing and ensure that
14:14the knot is tied in a way it cannot be easily opened.
14:20Yes, rare is the one who finds something worthy of love and once you find it, you must learn
14:35to trick yourself into being coupled irreversibly with it.
14:46Just holding hands won't suffice, tie a knot, a very difficult hard knot, otherwise you
15:02will never know when the other has slipped away, rather when you have slipped away from
15:07the other.
15:10Commit yourself, commit, commit yourself, if you ever find anything wonderful, commit
15:16yourself to it.
15:21That's the best expression of choice, to say in this matter I give up my choice, I give
15:33up my right to choose in favor of separation.
15:43Sir, what if my interest towards the subject is just a result of conditioning or maybe
15:58I'm trying to make myself secure that because the way you said that if I'm not going to
16:03read the subject otherwise, it's better to take it as a mainstream subject.
16:08So, you give up philosophy and you take up history, what's your inclination towards history from?
16:16It is also a result of conditioning.
16:20That's a much bigger question to ask, here there is 10% doubt and there there is 100%
16:25doubt, yet you are ready to side with 100% doubt, you are never going to be 100% sure
16:34as a young person, that's not going to happen, never, you have to operate on probabilities.
16:40Yes, obviously it is possible that this affinity for philosophy is a fleeting one, it is possible
16:49that in course of time you say no, I don't like philosophy, if that happens drop philosophy,
16:53fine, you have a lot of time, but if you drop philosophy right now, my question is what
17:00reason do you have to choose the other thing, do you have any love for that, no, for that
17:04I have zero love, so it's 100% certain there is no love, in the case of philosophy it is
17:1080% certain there is love, but there is some 20% doubt.
17:13So, I'm using that 20% doubt to take a different decision, not logical, not sensible.
17:24So, when I was listening to the question which the lady was asking, so I got the reply,
17:33I understood that as well, but I got reminded of a quote from Kirill Gibran which probably
17:38I also felt when I heard, so it says travel and tell no one, live a true love story and
17:47tell no one, live happily and tell no one, people ruin beautiful things, so in what context
17:54is Kirill Gibran saying this?
17:56It must be coming from somewhere, so that is the context, it must be part of a story
18:04or some other work, wherever it is coming from, that thing is the context, there are
18:12times when you will say let it be manifested, let it be radiated, tell everyone, there are
18:19times when you say tell no one, the contexts are different, maybe what he is saying here
18:26is that the real things must not be done for the purpose of social approval, social sanction,
18:41social aggrandization, so tell no one, others should not form the core of your action, so
18:53in that sense tell no one, that's all, more poetic expression and maybe it is said to
19:03someone who is too fond of declaring things at the market square, you will be told sir
19:14if you have something real with you, live it, eat it, breathe it, it's not there to
19:21be publicly exposed, that kind of person this thing will be said.
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